Category: Uncategorized

THE stars a lining up for an increase in the membership of the Legislative Assembly. But there is a political and legal minefield ahead. Continue reading “Bigger Assembly faces hurdles”

How is it that governments can sometimes initiate great public inquiries into major policy questions with submissions being made public – even on the internet – and interim and final reports again being cast into the public arena for intemperate journalists and ill-tempered Opposition members to trawl their way through for their argumentative ammunition? Continue reading “Secrecy is governments’ enemy”

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer with a circulation similar to that of The Australian or the Adelaide Advertiser ceased publication this week. It is now a purely on-line publication.

Do not panic. It is not totally the case of the internet swallowing paper. There is another morning paper in Seattle, population 600,000, which will pick up the slack. Continue reading “Wither newspapers in internet world”

Twelve years ago The Daily Telegraph ran a Page one article under a banner headline: “The class we failed”. Under it was class photo Mount Druitt’s Year 12, no member of which achieved a tertiary entrance score above 50. Continue reading “Easy to join the class we failed”

This week the ACT settled on its feed-in electricity tariff for home-generated solar power. It is a beachhead in public policy.

Much will depend on the reaction of electricity consumers and therein lies its innovation. Continue reading “ACT’s power-ful new policy”

How is it that governments can sometimes initiate great public inquiries into major policy questions with submissions being made public – even on the internet – and interim and final reports again being cast into the public arena for intemperate journalists and ill-tempered Opposition members to trawl their way through for their argumentative ammunition? Continue reading “Secrecy not in governments’ interests”

We can say this much for Prime Minister Kevin Rudd: he has at least stopped the march of Howardism. But he has done precious little to wind it back.

He has tinkered a bit with better treatment for asylum seekers. He has engaged in a bit of symbolism with Kyoto and Sorry. But most of everything else has been either left in place or shuffled off to inquiries and in the meantime still left in place. Continue reading “Howardism stopped but not reversed”

* Sydney Morning Herald
* February 25, 2009
Article on SMH site

It is three months since the Wood Special Commission of Inquiry into Child Protection Services in NSW handed its report to the NSW Government. At the time, the Premier, Nathan Rees, promised a response by March and said there would have to be compelling reasons not to accept its recommendations. Continue reading “Charities are ready to help swamped DOCS”

W INSTON Churchill thought political loyalty was an enormous virtue. The leader must be supported and the leader must support the front bench. But only up to a point.

“If a leader trips, he must be sustained,” Churchill wrote. “If he makes mistakes, they must be covered. If he sleeps, he must not be wantonly disturbed. If he is no good, he must be pole-axed.” Continue reading “Banquo (Costello) waits for 2013”

CANBERRANS, your property (and some other rights) are now safe from the hitherto all-powerful Commonwealth Government and Parliament.

The media noise over the Indigenous invasion of the High Court building and the retirement of Justice Michael Kirby last week meant that an important decision regarding the Territories, particularly the ACT and the Northern Territory, went virtually under the radar. Continue reading “Canberrans’ property rights upheld”